‘Sadistic monster’ gets 15 years for abusing parents

A CONVICTED stalker, who starved, imprisoned, assaulted and humiliated his sick elderly parents for almost six months, was dubbed a “sadistic monster” by Judge Anthony Kennedy (pictured) yesterday.

“In my 40 years prosecuting, defending and judging cases of every sort, I thought I had seen it all. Well I haven’t,” Judge Kennedy told Tullamore Circuit Court. Sentencing the man to 15 years in prison, Judge Kennedy said the case was “enough to leave anyone aghast at such evil”.

John Trimble (not pictured), aged 39, Bolart, Clara, Co Offaly, admitted falsely imprisoning his parents, 70-year-old Elizabeth and 71-year-old John at the family home on dates between March 7 and March 12, 2009.

He further admitted assaulting and endangering the couple by compelling them to take “cold showers and drip dry”, refusing food, clothing and medical attention on dates between March 1 and July 17, 2009.

Sgt Jer Glavin was called to the house on July 17 when two HSE nurses were refused access. He gained access after 40 minutes of arguing with the defendant.

The elderly couple “were naked and they were lying on a bed. They appeared to be very much frightened and in a distressed state”, he said.

The couple, who were both later found to be malnourished and three stone under weight, were taken to hospital where they recuperated for nine days.

Elizabeth told gardaí her son had forced her to have a cold shower every morning. He would refuse her a towel or clothes and leave a back door open so she could drip dry. Ms Trimble would then be forced to walk naked to a shed outside. “She would remain naked and he would instruct her to put on a laundry wash,” said Sgt Glavin.

When she would return she would be forced to clean the floor with wipes, again naked despite her pleas for clothes. After the cleaning was done she was often forced to have another cold shower before returning to bed.

On one occasion her son punched her in the face leaving her with a black eye. She was also forced into a scalding shower and she had to get medical attention for a burn to her neck.

She left the house only on a Friday to collect her pension and get groceries. She told Sgt Glavin she would have run away were it not for her husband who was suffering from prostate cancer.

“He would blame her by saying she had brought it on herself,” Sgt Glavin stated. “She described herself as being terrified.”

John Trimble, senior, was also forced to take cold showers and drip dry being roused from bed at 6am. Despite having prostate cancer, John jnr told his father he should curl up in a ball and die, the court heard.

Mr Trimble was struck by his son who also stopped him from attending his sister’s funeral and grandchild’s communion. He was not allowed watch television or use a phone.

Both parents were refused hot drinks and survived almost solely on lemonade and biscuits. They are both diabetics and were badly malnourished and vitamin deficient when rescued.

Describing him as a “sadistic monster”, Judge Kennedy said the accused was guilty of “obscenity of every kind and these weak defenceless parents had no escape”.